House-buying tips and traps Follow-up

Summary

In this video, H takes his show outdoors on a sunny Toronto day to discuss tips and traps of home buying. He shares valuable advice from viewers, including sticking to your budget, meeting neighbors, understanding tree roots, and seeking financial advice. H emphasizes the importance of researching the local area, negotiating prices, and being prepared for changes over time. He also addresses concerns about renting versus buying. H concludes with a promise to continue discussing real estate and home improvement topics in future videos.

Takeaways

• 🏠 Stick to your budget: It's easy to get carried away with the costs of a house, which can quickly add up beyond what you can afford.
• 💰 Beware of sales pressure: Everyone involved in the home buying process may try to sell you a more expensive house than you need.
• 🔍 Recognize the dream house: Looking at houses beyond your price range can make it difficult to identify the perfect home within your budget.
• 👀 Meet the neighbors: Knowing your neighbors is crucial as you'll be sharing property lines and community life with them.
• 🌳 Consider tree locations: Tree roots can extend far and potentially cause damage to your house's foundation and plumbing.
• 📋 Consult an independent financial advisor: To understand all mortgage options and make an informed decision.
• 📈 Research the local area: Talk to potential neighbors to get a sense of the neighborhood and its ongoing developments.
• 💸 Never pay the list price: Always negotiate for a better deal and be prepared to walk away if the price isn't right.
• 🕵️ Look at more than one house: Keep your options open and compare different houses to find the best fit for your needs.
• 🕰 Give yourself time to look: Take your time to find the right house without rushing into a decision.
• 🚧 Be aware of neighborhood changes: Consider how future developments or changes could affect your property and its value.

Q & A

What is the main topic of H's video?

The main topic of H's video is a follow-up discussion on the tips and traps of home buying, based on comments and advice from viewers.

Why is it important to stick to your budget when buying a house?

It's important to stick to your budget to avoid getting carried away with the costs of a house, which can easily escalate due to additional expenses like closing costs and add-ons.

What advice does Stephen Cudi give regarding the involvement of people in the home buying process?

Stephen Cudi advises that everyone involved in the home buying process is invested in selling you more house than you can afford, so it's crucial to be aware of this bias.

Outlines

00:00

🏡 Home Buying Tips and Budget Considerations

The video script discusses home buying tips, emphasizing the importance of sticking to a budget. It highlights advice from viewers, such as Darren Pson's suggestion to avoid exceeding one's budget and Stephen Cudi's insight on the industry's tendency to push buyers to purchase more house than they can afford. The speaker also talks about the difficulty in recognizing the 'house of your dreams' when looking beyond one's price range and the importance of knowing your financial limits and being firm about them. Additionally, the value of meeting neighbors and understanding the community is stressed, along with the potential issues that large trees near the property can cause to the house structure.

05:00

🔍 In-Depth Home Evaluation and Market Strategies

This paragraph delves into various aspects of home evaluation and market strategies. It starts with the advice of not paying the list price and the importance of negotiation, especially in a competitive market like Toronto. The speaker shares personal experiences of negotiating in different markets.

Keywords

💡Budget

A budget is a financial plan outlining how much money is available and how it should be spent. In the context of the video, sticking to a budget is crucial when buying a house to avoid overspending. The script mentions that it's easy to get carried away with additional costs, emphasizing the importance of budget discipline in the home buying process.

💡Closing Costs

Closing costs are the fees and expenses that must be paid at the time of the closing of a mortgage loan, in addition to the down payment. The video script mentions these costs as potential budget busters, indicating that they can add up and push buyers beyond their financial limits.

💡Mortgage

A mortgage is a loan used to purchase a property, secured by the property itself. The script discusses the mortgage in the context of long-term financial commitments, highlighting the importance of understanding the terms and conditions.

Highlights

The importance of sticking to your budget when buying a house to avoid overspending.

The influence of others in the home buying process who may encourage you to buy more house than you can afford.

The difficulty of recognizing the 'house of your dreams' when looking at properties beyond your price range.

Advice to know your budget, repeat it often, and stick to your guns when house hunting.

The value of meeting your neighbors to understand the community you'll be living in.

The potential impact of tree roots on property foundations and plumbing.

The suggestion to consult an independent financial advisor for mortgage options.

The benefits of researching the local area and talking to potential new neighbors about the neighborhood.

The recommendation not to pay the list price for a house and to always negotiate.

Being prepared to walk away from a property if it doesn't meet your needs or expectations.

The strategy of looking at more than one house at a time to avoid fixating on a single option.

The importance of giving yourself ample time to look at houses without rushing into a decision.

Avoiding the pressure to purchase a house just because others are interested in it.

The option to include conditions in the agreement of purchase to ensure the house meets your requirements.

Conducting a safety check for fire hazards and structural issues before moving in.

Considering how changes in the neighborhood over time might affect your property and satisfaction.

Visiting the house at different times to understand its characteristics in various conditions.

The impact of seasonal changes on a house and the importance of considering this when buying.

Checking with local councils for any impending developments that might affect the property.

The perspective on home ownership as 'renting from the bank' and the personal comfort it provides.

Transcripts

hello Internet it's me H with another

dge diary for you a glorious Toronto

sunshiny day so I thought I would drag

the show on the road get out on the deck

and shoot it out here so today I'm doing

a follow-up Friday on the tips and traps

of home buying of which I'm very excited

because there were a lot of amazing

comments and I want to Dive Right In and

get them right here I got them on the

tablet because I'm so organized um going

to start with Darren pson who says stick

to your budget such good advice um with

a house it's very very easy to sort of

just keep finding yourself oh it's just

5,000 oh it's just 10,000 oh it's just

like 50 100 CU you're dealing with

numbers that you don't normally deal

with on a daily basis like you're

dealing with a mortgage you're dealing

with something that's going going to be

paid off over like you know 30 years or

100 years or however long it's going to

be to get you um you know out of the

bank's debt but the point being is that

it's very very easy to get carried away

so um Stephen Cudi goes on a little

further and says that everyone involved

in the process is invested in selling

you more house than you can afford so

it's so true there's always more closing

costs and things you can do in add-ons

and bells and whistles and all this kind

of stuff very very quickly you'll find

yourself over your budget first a little

bit then all of a sudden a huge amount

it's just so easy to get to distracted

um and and find yourself with more house

than you can afford so um the other

thing that um that Steven says which I

think is a really good point was he's

saying it's very hard to recognize the

house of your dreams if you've been

looking at houses beyond your price

range so if you're there looking for $2

million houses and you've got a million

to spend well you know you're not going

to find your dream house because you're

looking you know you're looking at

houses you can't afford so basically his

advice is is when you get in there find

out what the price is before you start

looking at houses so make sure you stick

to your budget he says what does he say

he says um uh know what you can afford

repeat it often and loudly and stick to

your guns which I think is very very

good advice so stick to your budget

great ones thank you Darren and Steven

for those po the Ghost says always meet

your neighbors which is incredibly smart

advice because the reality is I've been

so so fortunate with neighbors the

neighbors actually just behind us here

yesterday came by or the day before came

by with this beautiful like thing of

brownies some of the most delicious

little brownies with little nuts in them

and the key to my heart is food um it's

just so important that the people that

you're going to be so close with that

you're going to share property lines

with the trees and fences and all this

kind of stuff it's so important that you

know that you're going to be able to get

along with them I mean you you know

obviously there's certain things you

can't you can't um um you can't know in

advance but the reality is I have been

so lucky and um my father was actually

when we went and looked at this house he

basically accosted this guy in the alley

at the back and said you live here you

know what's it like and blah blah blah

and got this whole lay of the land from

someone who's on the street so just very

very smart um and um as I say neighbors

and if look if someone moves in beside

you do do the brownie thing it's so

smart like I love these guys already I

hardly know them but the Goodwill you do

with that is just so I think just I

honestly I think it was heartfelt from

from their perspective but it's also

just a very smart move because you're

going to be living basically you know

with these people so um definitely know

your neighbors thank you very very good

advice po the ghost Ontario movies hello

Ontario movies who's probably still

making movies all bet um you should

check them out Tree location on the

property tree roots run up to two and a

half times the full Leaf width of the of

the tree such a good point the point is

that um basically what you see of the

tree is the pruned version It's the

version that's been cut back that hasn't

grown grown entirely that you know

people have lopped off bits as necessary

but over the years they've grown quite

large well the roots are twice as much

as that underground never been cut never

been pruned so they will find their way

into um into your foundations into your

plumbing into all sorts of stuff so you

can get in a lot of trouble with that I

know I will because I've got trees right

by my house that are absolutely massive

actually taller than the house so I'm

sure I'm in trouble on that already so

thank you Ontario movies for giving me

nightmares um not just with your films

but with also the um uh with the with

the advice on trees um uh next up secret

treky says uh he's got a number of or or

she's got a number of of points here she

says pay an independent uh financial

advisor to help make sense and explain

all the mortgage options tracker fix

interest only Etc ET Etc so basically

this is not advice that I took I'm not

sure I agree with you I I went to the

bank manager at our place and we talk

through mortgages and stuff in fact I I

I I mean I think it's very very very

good advice to say go and get some

mortgage advice because there's stuff

out there you just don't know exists for

me example um uh the the mortgage we

have on this house is based on on my

retirement savings so basically my

retirement fund is used as collateral on

a mortgage so I'm basically mortgaging

money off myself and and charging myself

a huge interest rate but I get to keep

that because it's an investment in my

interest in my uh it's sort of like

interest on my on my retirement savings

so definitely look in there there's all

sorts of things out there that I bet you

you're not aware of because you're just

not this isn't your business so

definitely go and talk to your bank

manager I mean um secret Trek is saying

pay an independent Financial guy maybe

that's necessary for you guys where you

are but um uh for me it was just a

matter of going to the bank it was is a

great great bank manager who walked us

through the whole thing but definitely

do your do your homework on the on the

financial side of it very very smart um

speaking of doing your homework they say

do your homework research to the local

area you want to live in ask a few of

your potential new neighbors as I said

like my dad was so smart he just sort of

marched outside grabbed the first guy

who lived on the street and just grilled

him about what it was like living in the

neighborhood how noisy it was you know

what development's going on all sorts of

stuff very very very smart so um and um

also never never pay the list price this

is all this is an interesting one

because I would say that's a tough one I

mean they're saying look you should

never play the pay the the list price

you should always try and negotiate a

better deal obviously try to negotiate

but the reality is like in the market

like this it's insane there's like

multiple multiple offers on things you

know people are selling their houses for

hundreds of thousands of dollars over

the asking and stuff so that is very

difficult in this market certainly in

Toronto I mean um um that said when we

were in California when we bought our

place there it was a big downturn in the

market we got it for like a 100 under

the asking price so you know you never

know but definitely I mean think the

advice there is just basically negotiate

be prepared to negotiate and the last

point that he makes which ties into this

is be prepared to walk away because

there is always another property as I

said in in the um in the top five tips

there is always another house use that

to your benefit when you're negotiating

on on these um on these house sales so

um very very good points Al them thank

you very much tin tin's got a bunch of

points here too uh look at more than one

house at a time very very smart I never

just never like fixate on one house

obviously find the house of your dreams

but keep looking then find out what else

is out there because you'd be surprised

You' be surprised how many houses out

there are perfect for you and um and and

fit your needs just as well as the one

that you're sort of you know that you're

drooling over at the time so definitely

look at more house than look at more

than one house at a time number two give

yourself time to look uh and and see

what's out there that's a really good

point we took like a year and a half

before we closed on this house we looked

around everywhere made sure that the

this was the area we wanted made sure

the the price range was right um and and

we weren't in a rush to move if you're

in a rush to move it's going to affect

your price that can that can jack your

price up a bit because you're trying to

get in there um and you're so desperate

to get in there um for for deadlines and

stuff so definitely keep that in mind

try to give yourself as much time not

everyone has that luxury but try to give

yourself as much time as possible um uh

to look around so uh next up don't feel

pressur to to purchase the house just

because other people look at the same

house it's interesting because you go

into an open house and there's like 20

people in they're all going a what a

wonderful place you like freak out want

to put an offer in like that hour um

it's a good point just sit back think

about what you're buying make sure it's

the house you want don't feel pressure

just because you think there may be a

lot of people looking at it there may be

a lot of competition there may be very

well but um it's still not going to help

help you if you're not buying the house

you that you want you're just being sort

of pressured into it so don't don't let

that um don't let that freak you out as

it has to me many occasion on many

occasions in fact I usually I don't like

going to open houses with lots of people

in fact I prefer not to go to open

houses I like to walk through the house

myself so there's no pressure and don't

feel like you're in other people's way

or that you're going to give something

away or something so um person but I'm

an antisocial jerk anyway so um next up

remember that not all sales are final

and that you can put things in the

agreement of purchase this is this is

great um the reality being is even when

you have a deal for the house make sure

that you put things in the contract that

you need make sure that those you know

that the plumbing is working make sure

that the electrical is right all those

um all those things that that that could

turn up in in reports and things you

want to make sure that that stuff is

cleared up and that it's in the contract

just because you have the contract

doesn't mean you have to buy the house

you want to make sure the contract

covers you and make sure that you've got

all the things that you need um dealt

with before you get in the house and if

they're not then you don't get the house

as simple as that so um or they don't

get to sell the house is a better way of

putting it perhaps uh last last Point

very good one uh safe um safety and

safety check for fire hazards poor

wiring bad steps safety rails all kind

of stuff really you know u i mean i it's

something that I don't do because I I

figure when I get in there I'm like

Elmer the safety elephant I want to fix

everything uh right away like for

example whenever I get to a new house

even a new rental I take down all of the

the fire alarms or smoke detectors and

carbon monoxide detectors and if they

don't have them I put them in and I just

put in new ones because then I know

they're the ones they're good I know

that they're up to date and all that

kind of stuff I'm I'm like obsessive

about that but yes good point let's um

you know make sure the place is safe

before you move into it probably a good

idea um now the The Following on sort of

come under this sort of heading of sort

of you know change um and and what time

and change will do to your house like

you've got the house you love what's

going to happen if they build like a

football stadium across the street or

that the house next door starts getting

renovated or or um um you know that

things will things will change so

consider what could change in your

neighborhood what could change for the

worse as well as for the better um it's

important because once you get settled

in the house and you get set in your

ways when things start changing they

really drive you crazy I mean it's I've

seen it a lot of times especially with

older people who've lived in a house for

a long time and they've seen a lot of

change and and when drastic change

starts happening like where house prices

start going up or people start selling

up and and rebuilding and stuff around

you it can be really disruptive and so

you need to keep that in mind when

you're buying a house how much is change

and you know and and the and the process

of of of change over time going to

affect your property and your love for

that property um so a few of these

things sort of that speak to this point

uh night sky dark says visit your house

at different times of the day and

different days and different months and

different weeks and all that kind of

stuff so basically look at your house

and all the different lights that are

available because you know a place that

looks beautiful during the day might not

be maybe pretty sketchy at night or vice

versa or um you know the place that we

bought in California was gorgeous when

we bought it in the summer as soon as

school started it was a nightmare with

like cars and honking and and then there

were the the church services started up

and they were noisy singing really bad

country and western I quite like carols

and hymns and all that kind of stuff but

boy that country and western uh uh

Christian music is that's brutal anyway

so you know stuff that we didn't we

didn't know because we weren't there on

a Sunday we weren't there when school

was in um so things to consider thank

you very much good point um Mary 85 says

it's easier to fall in love with the

house during the summer which you know

especially in Toronto I mean the house

looks amazing it's lovely it's a

glorious place to be in the summer

because there's nothing can go wrong and

it's not raining and it's the best time

to see a house obviously it's also the

worst time to judge whether it's the

right house for you because during the

winter or during a rainstorm or

thunderstorm or whatever that's the time

to go see a house see where it's leaking

see what's going wrong and uh I'm sure

we'll find that out as we hit winter

this you know this year in Toronto there

will things will come up which I know we

wouldn't have been able to uh plan for

or see because um uh we were seeing it

in the summer but things to consider if

you are looking at place in the summer

consider what's going to happen as the

seasons you know have their effect on

the house so uh great Point marry 85

Patty 1971 says she lived in a well she

lives in a rented semi- detached house

and um you know for the first you know

year or so that she's been living in the

house or however long it was um it was

empty the place the other side of her

semi detached house was empty so it was

fantastic lovely peaceful quiet and and

tranquil all of a sudden someone moves

in next door and it's not that they're

being really noisy it's just that they

are there and there suddenly noise that

they weren't used to so if you're used

to this beautiful quiet place and all of

a sudden someone moves in next door

you're going to go crazy so again it's

like change over time these are things

that you have to consider you move in

you go wow it's really quiet now because

there's no one living next door what's

going to happen when someone does Li

move next door I me just just you know

things to things to keep in mind uh next

up Jane lther says uh check with local

councils on impending developments and

stuff very very smart last place we had

we were about to sign the deal we went

on to the local uh council site and um

found out that they were going to tear

down the structure across the street and

rebuild it and it was going to be like

six years of hellish uh Renovations and

this guy didn't mention it in the in the

contract so we we got that in the

contract we knocked a chunk off the

price again really really useful for us

we were willing to put up with it um but

we were willing to put up with it for a

price it was great negotiating for us so

great um a great thing to do check with

local councils find out what's what

developments are being pursued in the

area Okay the last comment I'm going to

address here is Tamara vels who says

that she doesn't uh want to buy a house

because basically it would be owned by

the bank and um it's a good point it's

something that people say a lot to me

like you know I'm you know you're

basically just renting from the bank

well that's true and in way for me that

actually makes me feel better about

owning a house because it is kind of

like renting from the bank um it sounds

a lot less scary than owning a house but

for me you know I feel that the rental

payments are are a bit of a wasted money

I feel like I'm throwing money away I

know that I can pick up the phone and

get someone to fix something in a rental

that I can't do in um in my own house I

that's up to it's my responsibility

maintenance upkeep taxes all that kind

of stuff that's all your responsibility

when you buy a house that can be scary

and it has been scary in the past for me

but for some reason I guess just because

I'm used to it it doesn't bother me so

much so the idea of renting from the

bank is really almost comforting to me

CU I feel like well you know it's just I

have to pay rent to somebody so I'll pay

it to them um in my case um uh you know

it's it was cheaper to own a house and

have a mortgage than it was to be paying

the rent that we were paying like our

rent was much much higher than our

mortgage payments so um in the at the

end of the day I worked it out and I

could be wrong but um because my math

can be somewhat suspect um basically

worked it out that it was cheaper for us

to buy the house than it was to was to

rent or continue rent on so anyways

thank you all so much for the comments

keep them coming I will um I'm sure come

back to the subject obviously I'm I'm a

big fan of um the whole real estate

thing um I'm also a big Rena nerd so

there'll be lots of discussions about

how to improve those houses you've now

bought and um so until we geek again

Cher